We’re free to meet any organisation, says SP

We’re free to meet any organisation, says SP

 By George Zulu

THE Socialist Party (SP) says it has every right to meet leaders of various organisations for consultation on important national issues.

SP 2026 presidential candidate Dr Fred M’membe said the opposition party was free to consult interest groups, including teachers, students, traditional leaders and the Church leadership in the interest of the nation.

Dr M’membe said his party would not shy away from holding consultative meetings with different leaders in the country.

He said Zambians should realise that leadership was not all about politicians but various leaders from across the country and other sectors.

“We have the right to consult with all the leaders of our people. We have stated it before that the political leadership is not the only leadership in this country. There are also other leaders, also other authentic leaders of our people. Traditional leaders, religious leaders, trade union leaders and so on and so forth. We need to communicate with them,” Dr M’membe said.

He said the assertion by President Hakainde Hichilema that SP had met leaders of the Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) was not true.
Dr M’membe said no such meeting had taken place.

He said those spreading such rumours were lying.

“Yes, it’s true we have not yet held consultations with the BETUZ. But we are in the process of doing so. If they are not intimidated by what Mr Hichilema said, we’ll meet them. If they don’t want to meet us, we’ll not meet them. But we have a duty to meet all the leaders of our people, including those in business, in the cooperatives and so on,” Dr M’membe said.

Recently, Hichilema told a conference in Livingstone that BETUZ had met the SP sparking a vicious smear campaign by the United Party for National Development (UPND) media team against the union.

But on Sunday, BETUZ denied ever meeting SP leaders saying its actions were transparent.